Google has provided a gift for art lovers – the Google Art Project. Think of the Art Project as Google Maps of the World’s Finest Art Galleries from the Inside. Using similar recording technologies to its Google Earth cameras, Google has gotten some of the most prestigious art galleries to allow their gallaeries and content to be recorded for a virtual tour, free of charge on the Web. The results are what this review is about.
The start page at the Art Project is modest but not the list of galleries that are available online and for free as the screenshot above shows.. 16 Museums from the MoMA in New York to the Uffizi in Florence have allowed their rooms and many of their art treasures to be mapped. It is notable that the 16 museum are either in Europe or the United States.
Google has provided a uniform, helpful introduction to each museum:
Now the size of the screenshots is deliberately small, users should visit the Arts Project on a large screen system – 17″ diagonal or greater is recommended. Google’s display algorithms make it well worth the while. Not from the screen shot above what Google has provided for each museum – floor plan which is live as we shall see below, a history of the museum, and then a list of some of the additional art works not shown but which belong in the museums collection. This is very helpful information.
Navigating with controls and museum floor plan
Ye Editor, despite being fairly familiar and conversant with both Google Earth and Google Maps, found the navigation controls in the Art Project sometimes very vexing as I took my virtual walk through the galleries. As noted, a big screen really helps not only with realism but also with “moving around” within a gallery. Despite my Google savvy, I got turned and twisted around so badly – reverting to the sidebar Floor Plan was my only rescue. Either ye Editor has to improve “his Gallery Navigation skills” or Google has to make the controls – especially the template overlays, a lot more “user comfortable”.
Despite my clumsiness I managed to get around in the galleries tolerably well. And what is to be seen is no less than delightful. Ye Editor’s bucket brigade has diminished by several pails with the Google Art Project.
Individual Artworks on special display
Google has not left viewing of artworks to the vagaries of lighting and their Google-earth video cameras. Rather by clicking on the plus sign under an artwork, it is rendered in full view in the browser window with much more photographic excellence. Again, a big screen pays viewing dividends as in the case of MoMA’s Starry Night by van Gogh. Having seen the latter, my assessment is that live viewing has better vibrance and no hint of a colorcast. But visual memories are very fickle.
Whats is the payoff to the museum?
Being ranked as one of the 16 top art museums in the world is no small value. I suspect the Google Book phenomenon will also occur. Books included in the Google collection have, with more ready access seen 1)more readings and interests and b) more purchases. Want to bet whether the included art museums also see a nice increment in attendance? The Hermitage, for example, has its own site [sponsored by IBM] with its own tour; but ye Editor was completely unaware of the websites existence until visiting the Google Art Project. Remember the Google tour only shows a fraction of the art works available in any museum. Thus the museums have plenty of “extra attractions” including their ambience.
Summary
The Google Ar tProject is not an unqualified success given the navigation problems, the mixed quality of the video recording, and the lack of true World representation. However, despite these shortcomings the experience is wonderful. It was delightful to “walk along” and see what was to be found in the Uffizi or MoMA. Truly, Google has given a gift to artists and art lovers worldwide.
Ye Editor cant wait to see what the other Barons of Computing will do. Can you imagine Oracle’s site dedicated to the art and science of sailboat racing? Or Microsoft’s sponsorship of a website dedicated to touring the World’s National Parks with images and video from National Geographic?